God's Plan
God's Plan
4) God Made A Way For Us To Be Forgiven
God made a way to forgive us, save us from everlasting punishment and receive His plan for our lives. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be punished for our sins. God loves us so much that He gave His Son to die for us, as payment for our sins.
John 3:16-18 says, that "For God so loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son."
Three times in the book of Mark, Jesus told His followers that He had to suffer and be killed. He also said that He would come back to life after three days (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 14:27, 28). He said, "Even the Son of Man did not come to be served by other people, but to serve them and to give His life to pay for the salvation of many people" (Mark 10:45).
Jesus gave His life to be punished for our sins and pay for our forgiveness! We do not have to be condemned for our sins anymore. He will forgive us and save us from everlasting punishment in hell. He will give us a new life! All we must do to receive this gift is ask Him to forgive our sins and come into our heart, Jesus said, "The person who believes and is baptized will be forgiven, but the one who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). Romans 10:9, 10 says, "That if you confess with your mouth, that 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved" (NIV).
God's plan to save man from death was to give His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins. His Son Jesus was born as a man, but He lived His life without sinning. Men lied about Him and judged Him guilty of things He had never done. Then they hung Him on a cross to die. The very large curtain in the temple was torn into two pieces when Jesus died. It was torn from top to bottom to show it was not done by men. God did this to show that His Son's death had made a new way for us to come back to God.
Jesus never sinned, but He was punished for sin. So death had no power over Him, and He came back to life after three days. Now He gives everlasting life to anyone who receives Him.
You received everlasting life if you confessed your sins to God and asked Him to forgive you through His Son.